Dubai has provided drop-off points for residents to dispose off e-waste, but there is poor awareness of them and an unwillingness to make the trip. The failure to use the facilities also stems from their inadequacy and inconvenience . They are only designated for the disposal of paper, bottles, cans and general rubbish. E-waste collections by commercial firms and NGOs are spordic and usually related to specific campaigns rather than on a regular basis. This inadequate response to the problem has resulted in e-waste ending up in domestic dustbins, placed in building chutes, wheelie bins or on refuse lorries. Compactors do not segregate e-waste but crush it with everything else and most of it goes to landfill.
Critics point out that in order to recover resources and avoid contamination of recyclables by organic waste, sorting needs to take place where waste is generated and not after it has been collected. Recycling is very much in its infancy in the UAE and there are as yet no e-waste processing facilities to recover precious metals such as gold, silver and copper.
Where e-waste recycling does take place, environmental companies break down mobile phones and other e-waste at local recycling facilities and send cartridges, batteries, motherboards and data cables to Europe where properly equipped facilities can break them down properly and melt down metals, precious metals and plastics.